Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
Apparently I’m not, at least when it comes to US History, according to the results of a few online quizzes while preparing for this post. But I still like Jeff Foxworthy. He’s my all-time favorite redneck.
Even after a field trip to Valley Forge several months ago, which included a very entertaining synopsis of this famous Revolutionary War site courtesy of a very knowledgeable National Park Service guide who just happened to be a US History teacher in his former life, my recall of the pertinent Valley Forge facts via a few online quizzes was not what I’d hoped.
Okay, if you really must know, my average score was . . .
Apparently I’m not, at least when it comes to US History, according to the results of a few online quizzes while preparing for this post. But I still like Jeff Foxworthy. He’s my all-time favorite redneck.
Even after a field trip to Valley Forge several months ago, which included a very entertaining synopsis of this famous Revolutionary War site courtesy of a very knowledgeable National Park Service guide who just happened to be a US History teacher in his former life, my recall of the pertinent Valley Forge facts via a few online quizzes was not what I’d hoped.
Okay, if you really must know, my average score was . . .
. . . 70%.
It’s a shame I can’t retain facts like I retain water! I was always horrible at Trivial Pursuit, too.
But I have pictures of Valley Forge!!!! I’m very good at retaining digital images. If you’ve any doubt my capabilities on that score (I retain close to 100%, if you must know, of the digital images I commit to memory – on my Memory Card, that is), you can read all about my high scores/addiction via this link.
But, . . . before I present my TOP TEN VALLEY FORGE PHOTOS, I figured what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?! For you history buffs, yes, I’m a quack when it comes to history, US or otherwise, although that hasn’t preventing me from participating in as many field trips as possible. For the rest of you, your goose may be cooked, too.
I know, you didn’t get to visit Valley Forge, which means you’re going to have to dig through decades of facts stored somewhere inside that cranium of yours. If you’re really feeling panicky, take the same online quiz I took after perusing my TOP TEN PHOTOS OF VALLEY FORGE. I’ve included all the history I could recall; I guarantee those facts are at least 70% accurate!
Here’s the link to one of the ten-question quizzes I took online; see how you stack up. Good luck! Feel free to put me to shame (or to commiserate) and share your score via a comment.
VISITOR CENTER AT VALLEY FORGE
It’s a shame I can’t retain facts like I retain water! I was always horrible at Trivial Pursuit, too.
But I have pictures of Valley Forge!!!! I’m very good at retaining digital images. If you’ve any doubt my capabilities on that score (I retain close to 100%, if you must know, of the digital images I commit to memory – on my Memory Card, that is), you can read all about my high scores/addiction via this link.
But, . . . before I present my TOP TEN VALLEY FORGE PHOTOS, I figured what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?! For you history buffs, yes, I’m a quack when it comes to history, US or otherwise, although that hasn’t preventing me from participating in as many field trips as possible. For the rest of you, your goose may be cooked, too.
I know, you didn’t get to visit Valley Forge, which means you’re going to have to dig through decades of facts stored somewhere inside that cranium of yours. If you’re really feeling panicky, take the same online quiz I took after perusing my TOP TEN PHOTOS OF VALLEY FORGE. I’ve included all the history I could recall; I guarantee those facts are at least 70% accurate!
Here’s the link to one of the ten-question quizzes I took online; see how you stack up. Good luck! Feel free to put me to shame (or to commiserate) and share your score via a comment.
VISITOR CENTER AT VALLEY FORGE
Don't they have cute greeters at the Visitor Center at Valley Forge? Jimmy has found a new calling.
Valley Forge is the story of the six month encampment of the Continental Army of the newly formed United States of America under the command of General George Washington. This Pennsylvania landmark is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Why Valley Forge for that six month encampment? The area was close enough to the British occupation in Philadelphia to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks. The high ground of nearby Mount Joy and Mount Misery (those are some telling names), combined with the Schuylkill River to the north, made the area easily defensible.
Though no battle was fought there during the six-month encampment beginning December 19, 1777, a struggle against the elements and low morale was overcome on this sacred ground.
Why Valley Forge for that six month encampment? The area was close enough to the British occupation in Philadelphia to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks. The high ground of nearby Mount Joy and Mount Misery (those are some telling names), combined with the Schuylkill River to the north, made the area easily defensible.
Though no battle was fought there during the six-month encampment beginning December 19, 1777, a struggle against the elements and low morale was overcome on this sacred ground.
Information overload inside the Visitor Center.
Valley Forge, named for the iron forge built along Valley Creek in the 1740's, was established as the first state park of Pennsylvania in 1893 by the Valley Forge Park Commission. In 1923, the VFPC was brought under the Department of Forests and Waters and later incorporated into the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1971. In 1976, Pennsylvania gave the park as a gift to the nation for the Bicentennial. The National Park System established the area as Valley Forge National Historical Park on July 4, 1976.
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, COMMANDER, CONTINENTAL ARMY
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, COMMANDER, CONTINENTAL ARMY
Wow, that profile looks good enough to put on a dollar bill!
Before he was the unanimous choice in 1788 as first President of the newly formed United States, General George Washington commanded the Continental Army of this British colony, leading the American cause in 1775 against taxation without representation.
His faith in the moral rightness of the American cause during the Revolutionary War never wavered under his command. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history Washington remains an international icon for liberation and nationalism.
MAJOR GENERAL FRIEDRICH VON STEUBEN
His faith in the moral rightness of the American cause during the Revolutionary War never wavered under his command. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history Washington remains an international icon for liberation and nationalism.
MAJOR GENERAL FRIEDRICH VON STEUBEN
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. My image was a nice shot from behind.
Valley Forge is probably best known for being the birthplace of the American Army for true historians. It’s the site where the first Military Manual of Arms (Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States) was written and established by Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian-born military leader.
Out of work and sympathetic to the cause, von Steuben showed up at Washington’s doorstep (muddy as that doorstep was) in February, 1778 speaking very little English but brandishing a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. It got von Steuben’s foot in the door.
In just under six months, von Steuben turned the disillusioned and poorly trained Continental Army into a fighting force ready and able to take on the British Empire. I bet he’d have made a great teacher!
HOUSING FOR VALLEY FORGE SOLDIERS
Out of work and sympathetic to the cause, von Steuben showed up at Washington’s doorstep (muddy as that doorstep was) in February, 1778 speaking very little English but brandishing a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. It got von Steuben’s foot in the door.
In just under six months, von Steuben turned the disillusioned and poorly trained Continental Army into a fighting force ready and able to take on the British Empire. I bet he’d have made a great teacher!
HOUSING FOR VALLEY FORGE SOLDIERS
The soldiers at Valley Forge built about 2,000 cabins to weather their winter encampment.
Things began to come together for the Continental Army at Valley Forge despite history’s rather popular version of a deprived and miserable ragtag army struggling to persevere. Rather than wait for deliverance, the army located supplies, built log cabins for living quarters, constructed makeshift clothing and gear, and cooked subsistence meals.
Disease actually proved the toughest obstacle to overcome. Two-thousand men succumbed to typhus, typhoid, dysentery, and pneumonia in the spring of 1778 when supplies were abundant; another thousand men deserted.
I had no idea wives, sisters, and daughters of many of the enlisted men followed the American soldiers throughout the war (they numbered about 500 at Valley Forge), taking care of their laundry and meals and minimal medical needs. They received half the wages of the soldier; children received quarter wages. Their emotional support was priceless.
The Valley Forge encampment also included African American and Native American soldiers. The First Rhode Island Regiment, in General James Varnum’s Brigade, consisted largely of African American and Native American soldiers. African Americans at Valley Forge also included slaves serving as substitutes for their masters; one of those slaves was Samual Surphen in the New Jersey Brigade.
Disease actually proved the toughest obstacle to overcome. Two-thousand men succumbed to typhus, typhoid, dysentery, and pneumonia in the spring of 1778 when supplies were abundant; another thousand men deserted.
I had no idea wives, sisters, and daughters of many of the enlisted men followed the American soldiers throughout the war (they numbered about 500 at Valley Forge), taking care of their laundry and meals and minimal medical needs. They received half the wages of the soldier; children received quarter wages. Their emotional support was priceless.
The Valley Forge encampment also included African American and Native American soldiers. The First Rhode Island Regiment, in General James Varnum’s Brigade, consisted largely of African American and Native American soldiers. African Americans at Valley Forge also included slaves serving as substitutes for their masters; one of those slaves was Samual Surphen in the New Jersey Brigade.
Reminds me of summer camp!
NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARCH, VALLEY FORGE
Victory, at last!
The United States National Memorial Arch, located at the intersection of Outerline Drive and Gulph Road, was erected to commemorate the arrival of General George Washington and his Continental Army into Valley Forge. Construction began in 1914 and dedication ceremonies were conducted on June 19, 1917.
Hi, ho, Silver!
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War Anthony Wayne was a respected southeastern Pennsylvania farmer and businessman. He strongly supported the Patriot cause and in January 1776 gained a commission as a colonel with command of the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion.
This tough, colorful, hard fighting general earned the moniker "Mad" Wayne for his heroics on and off the battlefield. In 1779 he launched a coup de main against British fortifications at Stony Point, New York, on the orders of General George Washington, destroying the fortifications and evacuating the area during a mission that had seemed doomed to failure.
At Ft. Ticonderoga in early 1777, troops of the Sixth Pennsylvania mutinied over their enlistment terms until Wayne brow-beat the leaders into surrendering. He squashed a second mutiny in a rifle company by aiming a pistol at one of the ring leaders until the man begged for his life.
During the Valley Forge encampment, George Washington relied heavily on Wayne’s leadership, writing, “In Wayne the spark of daring might flame into rashness, but it was better to have such a leader and occasionally to cool him to caution than forever to be heating the valor of men who feared they would singe their plooms in battle”.
This tough, colorful, hard fighting general earned the moniker "Mad" Wayne for his heroics on and off the battlefield. In 1779 he launched a coup de main against British fortifications at Stony Point, New York, on the orders of General George Washington, destroying the fortifications and evacuating the area during a mission that had seemed doomed to failure.
At Ft. Ticonderoga in early 1777, troops of the Sixth Pennsylvania mutinied over their enlistment terms until Wayne brow-beat the leaders into surrendering. He squashed a second mutiny in a rifle company by aiming a pistol at one of the ring leaders until the man begged for his life.
During the Valley Forge encampment, George Washington relied heavily on Wayne’s leadership, writing, “In Wayne the spark of daring might flame into rashness, but it was better to have such a leader and occasionally to cool him to caution than forever to be heating the valor of men who feared they would singe their plooms in battle”.
Home sweet home.
General Washington used the home of Isaac Potts for his headquarters during his encampment at Valley Forge. This is where Washington received dignitaries and met with his staff and aides.
At the time of Washington's encampment the house was being rented by a Potts relative, Deborah Hewes. Mrs. Hewes rented the entire house along with some furnishings to the General, his wife Martha, and Washington's military family.
At the time of Washington's encampment the house was being rented by a Potts relative, Deborah Hewes. Mrs. Hewes rented the entire house along with some furnishings to the General, his wife Martha, and Washington's military family.
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home/headquarters.
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